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Contingency Recruiting with HirePatriots The United States Military trains and produces the best leaders in the world. They possess hands on, under fire, experience that surpasses that of almost all civilians. Their characters, work ethic and mission driven attitude are exceptional. Since 2004, HirePatriots has assisted hundreds of companies that have turned to us to […]

Strange Pre-Teen Kid

This is part 2 of a continuing story of the particular path I took to get here:

There is at least one, small advantage to getting old: You gain perspective. – And this I know: God created each of us as a distinct and unique person. To some people we will seem weird. But most of us will find a compatible spouse and perhaps a few friends, children and in-laws who enjoy our company. If we are very fortunate, we will also enjoy theirs.’

Now, when we are small children we do not have developed personalities. Instead, we have impulses. – Between the ages of 4 and 6, Kindergarten and 1stgrades, I was in the Y-Indian Guides and the Cub Scouts and hard ball Little League. (There was no T-ball or sponge ball back then. — 99.99% of all American boys played real baseball as soon as their bodies were able.)

For some intrinsic reason, built within my nature, at these meetings, usually before they even officially started, when the boys would congregate and wonder what to do to pass time, I would always suggest boxing. (I understand now; but, at the time, this seemed like a reasonable and enjoyable alternative to just standing around.)

Everytime, there would be a bigger boy that would take offense and bristle, like a dog whose back-hair stands on-end just before attacking. — This was 57 years ago, but I can still feel the impulse that created my reaction: I would suddenly strike the boy in the nose. Almost invariably, this would make blood flow down the boy’s chin. – And I was small. In fact, as everyone discovered later, I was a hemophiliac, a ‘bleeder.’ – My only explanation is that I was created to be AGGRESSIVE.

But later, as almost every boy got bigger and I stayed small, I turned away from fighting and excelled at running instead. – Fortunately, God gave me wings on my feet and endurance that lasted all day. — In my brief stint in high school, I made Captain of the Cross Country team as a sophomore. (Afterwards and older, I turned to marathons and 50 mile races. I competed with world athletes. – Ryan, Prefontaine, Wottle, Toomey. We worked-out together in Laguna and Santa Barbara before the Munich Olympics. )

I was created to TRY HARD. I am INTENSE. People call me PASSIONATE. And since those early years, in every sport, I was always called “ANIMAL!” (Not always in a complimentary way.) – I am very COMPETITIVE. Hence, whenever I feel challenged or threatened, my immediate impulse is to go into full OVERDRIVE. In other words: TRY HARDER!

These instilled instincts, at my birth and in my youth, did not win me friends. But they did lead me into many extraordinary adventures. All of them were thrilling and often amazing. Yet thinking back, too many were reckless and life-threatening and dangerous too.

I worked at many jobs; but, I knew that I was not made to be an ‘employee.’ – Being a part of a team had never been my strong suit. In sports, I always played the odd man out. – For instance, in soccer (my favorite athletic experience of all), I excelled at Goalie. That is a very individualistic position, much like the pitcher in baseball. – So I think that I became an entrepreneur naturally. I started businesses in order to make a living and to survive.

* I am writing this for others who identify with being a similar created being. — You are probably what others label as “Type A’ personality. You are driven to always do your best. You must excel. — This is my story.

** Look forward to my next installment, next week. I’ve just gotten started,

Hello, I'm Mark Baird and I founded Hire Patriots. My wife and I are 'helpers.' We are concerned about meeting the practical needs of our US veterans veterans and their families. We began a job board for local residents to post chores that they need help with. It has been very successful. Thousands of local US Military and veterans partially or entirely support themselves from our website. We are looking for others near US Military bases who would also like to have a HirePatriots.com website for their location. We also hold welcome home parties, military marriage retreats, job fairs and create military family gardens.

Patriotic Hearts' mission is to create effective economic stability and enhancement programs that assists U.S. Military, veterans and their families and aids their return to the civilian sector as healthy, successful and important contributors to the American way of life; and, to educate the US citizenry about their valiant sacrifices and value to our nation.

Job Fairs

HirePatriots has hosted many job fairs for the U.S. military and veterans. HirePatriots has a stellar reputation with businesses across America and the world. And of course, we are highly regarded by the U.S. military.

Veteran Entrepreneur Mentoring

HirePatriots vigorously seeks to support veterans who have chosen to start their own businesses. We believe that this is crucial to the rebuilding of the American economy and to employing more of our transitioned U.S. military. HirePatriots has created a valuable training and support program for U.S Veteran entrepreneurs. We use the combined business acumen of our multiple HirePatriots’ business leaders to provide step-by-step hands on business development training.

Military Marriage Enrichment Retreats

Our military’s emotional and psychological health, as well as their professionalism is largely dependent upon the health of their relationships with their immediate family members. The divorce rate has risen as high as 90% on bases with frequent combat deployments. Military wives call it "The Plague."

Patriotic Hearts hosts military marriage enrichment retreats to strengthen military and veterans’ marriages. The theme of our retreats is "Love and Respect." They last from Friday night until Sunday afternoon. We continue to follow each couple closely after the retreats. And we have had wonderful success in keeping marriages and families united. These are all-expenses paid retreats.

Financial Wellness

Patriotic Hearts provides training on how to manage personal and family income, through seminars, retreats and online. This is a unique and comprehensive 5 point Financial Wellness series of workshop courses that has been specifically designed for veterans, active duty, and military families. It is a customized, financial wellness curriculum that focuses on helping our heroes and their families understand their particular spending personalities. Then we teach the essentials of money management. And we also explain the necessity for multiple streams of income and investment strategies.

Career & Personal Counseling

Many qualified volunteers offer to give professional counseling to US veterans’ career search. And marriage counselors, PTSD experts and licensed psychologists also donate their time and services.

School Kids Program

A wonderful result of our increasing popularity has been that public schools are adopting Patriotic Hearts and HirePatriots as a community service project. These schools receive their own HirePatriots.com website, and the students fill it with their patriotic efforts, essays, videos and pictures. We are also writing a curriculum and a book to promote this program and make it a perpetual part of our American fabric.

Educational Endeavors

In the last 50 years the American population has gone from 90% of American males being US military veterans to less than 1% of our current generation. And further reductions in our nation’s Armed Forces are being planned. There now exists a tremendous vacuum of understanding and appreciation for the important role veterans and their families play in keeping America a safe haven for democracy and freedom. In response, Patriotic Hearts trains patriotic citizens to speak and seeks out opportunities on TV, radio, in the press, and at community events, associations, clubs and schools for them teach about US veterans’ sacrifices and critical role in preserving our way of life.

Veterans Green Program

In order to raise funds for our Patriotic Hearts programs we are asking companies to donate their e-waste to us. Those companies will receive a certificate of donation from our non-profit. We will hire US veterans to pick up and recycle their waste. And we will be able to fund the vital programs we provide with that assistance.